Municipalities across the nation are dealing with similar budget deficits, and some have come up with creative solutions. One such city, Rockford, Ill., will save an estimated $500,000 this year by cutting power to 15 percent of its street lights.

This is a controversial move that has been made by other cities and towns such as Highland Park, Mich., and Clintonville, Wis.

It could work in Springfield too, if it has the support of the public.

Despite the possible savings, residents of Springfield and surrounding towns have historically been opposed to cutting power to street lights.

In 1990, South Hadley cut power to some of its street lights in order to save money, and never turned them back on, according to a story published in 2000 in The Republican. The story reports that The Republican received numerous complaints about poorly lit roads in South Hadley and other towns.

In 1980, Springfield turned off 50 percent of its street lights to save money, but was spurred to turn them back on after public outcry.

Although Springfield's deficit is large, it's dwarfed by the $49.4 million budget gap the city was facing at the beginning of this year's budget process.

"Through careful analysis and tough decision making, we were able to reduce the size of that budget gap to $5.4 million and keep everyone working. We cut spending wherever possible while maintaining service levels." (This information can be found in the city's report on budget facts)

In order to close the remaining gap, Sarno called for a wage freeze affecting 1,500 municipal employees in Springfield. In addition, these employees would be asked to take a dozen furlough days, or unpaid vacation days. This move would reportedly save the city from laying off 120 of these same employees.

Faced with a $5.2 million budget deficit, Rockford made the decision to turn off or remove 2,300 street lights, a move that will reportedly save Rockford between $250,000 and $500,000.

Despite the potential savings from this plan, National Public Radio reports that some residents of Rockford are concerned about the threat to public safety posed by poorly lit roads:

"I'm getting quite a bit of feedback from different parts of town, saying that they're seeing dramatic differences on the streets where they live and it's concerning them. I think that if you just drive around town it's not that noticeable. But if you're in an area and you're used to a certain kind of lighting every time you drive home, you're going to notice it," said Corina Curry, a reporter at the Rockford Register Star.

The same NPR story notes some residents are also worried about the potential for increased crime rates on dark town streets:

"You know, there were a lot of questions posed to the police chief. And the police chief told the council that there really are no studies that show direct correlation. And he is of the belief that, directly, the lighting doesn't affect crime," said Curry

Since Rockford turned out a portion of its street lights, it has not seen an increase in crime rates, though it is important to note that it has only been a few months since the plan was enacted.

There are similarities between the two cities. Both Rockford and Springfield have about 150,000 residents. Both cities are trying to close a budget deficit of over $5 million.

What effect shutting off street lights would have on the crime rate in Springfield is not clear, although the rate has not risen in Rockford since implementing the plan.

While funding cuts have been widespread in Springfield, the street light fund has actually increased by $500,000 this year:

The Mayor’s FY12 Recommended Budget increased the Public Works Division by 10.7%. The increase was driven by the street light account that increased by over $500,000 for FY12 based on rates. (This information can be found in the city's budget cut impact report)

Under some street light-shutting plans, there is a possibility that residents could return power to lights of their choosing, if they are willing to pay for it.

If turning off some street lights were to be posed as a referendum, residents would have to decide if closing the budget gap is more important than brightly lit streets.

NPR covers the decision made by officials in Rockford Illinois to turn off 15 percent of the town's street lights in order to save money